Pan cleaner



Dec; 29, 1925.

S. J. QUALLS PAN CLEANER- Filed April 4, 1925 $1? fi I? J. [/6 mvurronPatented Dec. 29, 1925.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.-

STEPHEN J". QUAIYJLS, OF CASPER, WYOMING.

PAN CLEANER.

Application filed A ril 4,

- f V fyoming, have invented new and useful Improvements inPan Cleaners,of which the following is a specification.

My present invention has reference to a means for cleaning ashes andcinders from a stove or furnace of'a character which will prevent alldanger of fire from the removed ashes and which is also dust proof.

A further object isto provide a stove or furnace with an ash pan havinga rounded bottom portion terminating in an outwardly directed spout, andin which there is journaled a worm, the spout being nornialiy closed bythe ash door, while during the removal of the ashes and cinders I latchon the spout a tubular member that also carries a worm to engage withthe first mentioncd worm and whose shaft is i'einovably fixed to spiderscarrying a closed reticulated drum arranged in a suitable closed easing,both worm shafts being operated by a handle on the outer face of thecasing, and whereby the ashes may be readily removed from the stove anddeposited in o the easing without dust or liability of fire, and alsowherein the cinders may be readily separated from the ashes during theremoving process.

The drawing, which accompanies and forms part of this application,illustrates the improvement.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a side elevation of the improvement, withparts in section, a furnace being indicated by the dotted lines.

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the casing.

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the pan, approximately on the line3-3 of Figure 1 Figure 4 is a sectional end view of one of the spiral orworm shafts.

Figure 5 is a face view of the second shaft.

In the drawing a furnace 1 is indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 1.Fixed in the furnace below the grate thereof there is a pan 2. The panhas its front wall and its sides inclined toward its bottom and itsbottom is formed with a rounded concavity 3. At the inclined outer end iof the pan the concaved bottom is surrounded by a tubular pipe or stem5. Journaled in suit- 1925'. Serial ml 20,797.

. able bearings in the bottom 3 of the pan 2 and also in its pipeextension 5 there are the ends of a worm carrying shaft 6. The. outerend of the shaft 6 is formed with a reduced squared extension 8 (Figure5). The pipe extension is designed to be covered latter is in closedposition.

To remove the ashes from the pan, the

' ash door of the furnace is opened, and there is arranged over the pipe1 a pipe section 9 securedon one end of a substantially rec 11 that aredesigned to engage with an. annular lug 12 on thepipe element 5. Thiseffects a tight engagement between the pipe sections 9 and 5 and alsoholds the casing 10 properly positioned with respect to the furnace.

The pipe section 9 extends for a short distance into the casing 10 andalso passes through one of the closed ends of a reticulated drum 13. Thedrum has the end thereof through which the pipe 9 passes of a lessdiameter than the opposite closed end thereof whereby ashes and cinderswill fall toward the said outer end of the drum.

Passing through a suitable bearing 14 in the outer end of the casing 10,and connected to spiders 15 that support the drum 13, there is a shaft16. The shaft, at the portion thereof that passes through the pipesection 9, is provided with a worm screw 17. The free end of the shaft16 is formed with a socket 18 (Figure 4) designed to receive therein thesquared extension 8 on the shaft 6.

A removable handle 19 has a socket engagement with the projecting end ofthe shaft 16 and the open top 'of the casing 10 is normally closed by aflanged cover 20. The frictional engagement between the flange of thecover and the casing 10 will prevent passage of dust therethrough, thesaid cover being provided with a suitable handle whereby the same may bereadily removed from the casing.

The turning of the handle will, of course, operate the screw conveyorsso that the ashes and cinders will be drawn out of the pan into thereticulated drum 18 to separate unburned coal from the ashes and theashes will fall through the mesh of the said drum, the unburned coalbeing retained in the by the ash door of the furnace 1 when the drum.The casing and its pipe member 9 are disconnected from the pipe 5 byreleasing the latch members 11, and the casing is moved to a suitableplace to be emptied. The crank 19 is removed from the shaft 16 and thescrew conveyor 17, with itsshaft 16, is drawn through the spout 9, whichpermits of the drum 13 being raised through the open top of the casingafter the closure for the said casing is removed, and the unburned coalin the drum will find an outlet through the opening in the end thereofthat normally receives therethrough the inner end of the pipe extension9. The improvement may be successfully operated without the employmentof the drum 13 as will, it is thought, be apparent.

Having described the invention, I claim A furnace having a pan below thegrate thereof, said pan having a pipe extension at the bottom thereof, aspiral screw conveyor having its shaft journaled in the said bottom andin the pipe extension of the pan, a normally closed easing, areticulated drum therein,va pipe extension on one side of the casingentering the drum and projecting outwardly from said casing, said pipeextension designed to receive therein the end of the first mentionedpipe, means latching the pipe sections so connected, a shaft passingcentrally through the drum and through the pipe extension associatedtherewith, supporting means on the shaft for the drum, a spiral wormconveyor on the last mentioned shaft at the portion thereof received inthe pipe extension, interengaging means between the ends of both of thementioned shafts, and an operating handle removably secured to the outerend of the last men'- tioned shaft.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

STEPHEN J. QUALLS.

